Tag Archives: Unknown

To a certain extent we do carry the knowledge of our forefathers within our cells and chromosomes, which present a pattern that is not rigid but flexible–one that in codified fashion endows us with the subjective living experience of those who, in our terms, have gone before. Some very old cultures have been aware of this. While being independent, individual members also identified with their ancestors to some extent, accepting them as portions of their selfhoods. This does not mean that the individual self was less, but was more aware of its own reality. A completely different kind of focus was presented, in which the ancestors were understood to contribute to the “new” experience of the living; one in which the physically focused consciousness clearly saw itself as perceiving the world for itself, but also for all of those who had gone before– while realizing that in those terms he or she would contribute as well as the generation past.

The animals were also accepted in the natural philosophy of selfhood as the individual plainly saw the living quality of consciousness. The characteristics of the animals were understood to continue “life,” adding their qualities to the experience of the self in a new way.

The human body would be used in earth’s great husbandry as, from it, dying and decaying new forms would arise. This was a give-and-take in which for instance, a jungle neighborhood was truly home, and all was a portion of the self psychically, spiritually, and physically.

Let those who will, laugh at tales of spirits turning into the trees–a simplistic theory, certainly, yet a symbolic statement in such societies: The dead were buried at home in the same close territory, to form in later times the very composition of the ground upon which religions grew. Again, our limited concepts of selfhood make what I am saying difficult for us to perceive.

I am not saying, that the living consciousness of each individual returned to the earth literally, but that the physical material permeated and tamped with that consciousness did, and does. Even the cells retain knowledge of all of their affiliations. In physical terms the consciousness that we understand is based upon this.

Selfhood is poorer when it does not at least intuitively understand this heritage.

The phrase, “Might is right,” can just as well be written the other way around.

For centuries it was taken for granted that God was on the side of the strongest, richest nation. Surely, it seemed, if a country was poor or downtrodden, it was because God had made it so.

Such ideas literally held people in chains, fostering slavery and other inhumane practices. The same unfortunately applies to the Eastern concept of nirvana, and to the Christian idea of heaven. Both have been used by those in power to hold down the masses of people, to justify shoddy and inadequate living conditions by promising future bliss in the world after death.

There are many differences between the ideas of nirvana and heaven, but each has been used not only to justify suffering, but also to teach people to seek pain. The idea has been that the more persecuted and maligned a person is, the greater will be the reward in a future existence.

I want to avoid concentration upon esoteric practices in my blogs, but they do sometimes impinge upon the subject matter at hand.

The ideas of penance, fasting to excess, the personal abuse of the body, such as self-flagellation — all of those practices are conducted in the belief that suffering is something to be sought in itself. In such a way pain becomes a sought-after goal, and pleasure becomes subverted into pain.

Quite ordinary people often believe, then, that suffering itself is a way toward personal development and spiritual knowledge. In matters of health, such beliefs can have most unfortunate results. They are often responsible for needless sacrifices of physical organs in imprudent operations.

Some individuals become anxious and worried if they think they are too happy — for to them it means that they are not paying sufficiently for their sins. They may be threatened by some undeniable danger, until finally in one way or another they seek out their own punishment once again — wondering all the time why they are so frequently besieged by poor health or disease.

This kind of syndrome can affect individuals, families, and to some extent entire nations. They mitigate directly against man’s and woman’s health, survival, and exuberance.

Constant fears about nuclear destruction, or other such catastrophes can also fall under this classification.

Large masses of people became so convinced of God’s eventual vengeance and retribution that they began to plan for it.

Their lives became a way of avoiding pain instead of seeking out pleasure or satisfaction. This is true of individuals, but it also applies to many so-called survival groups, who congregate in one or another portion of the country, collecting supplies to carry them over the holocaust and to defend their families from those who might steal their provisions.

Most such people expect a period of chaotic time, in which all laws are broken down. Another version stresses the economic area, foreseeing the collapse of the economy, anarchy, and other conditions that pit one individual against the other.

These people believe, of course, that any given situation will worsen, and be carried to its most disastrous end. That attitude colors all of their other beliefs and actions. Some use religious dogma, and others rely upon scientific dogma to prove their cases, but in any case, they are presented with a world of deception and vengeance.

Good mental or physical health can hardly flourish under such conditions. There are instead most beneficial groups in this country and abroad, who actually, actively, yet peacefully join together to work for worldwide nuclear disarmament, and also to tackle such questions as nuclear waste. Their efforts are directed in other ways also, as they try to convince all areas of the world to share their wealth and foodstuffs equally.

These may be “highflying” goals, however they are positive in nature, aimed toward accomplishment and achievement, and they collect the energies of the people together in a way that stresses cooperation and understanding.

Again, the end does not justify the means — so no amount of war is ever going to produce a meaningful peace.

Such ideas affect every level of life, from the most microscopic onward. It is not that plants understand our ideas in usual terms — but they do indeed pick up our intent, and in the arena of world survival, they have a stake.

I do not want to romanticize non-human life either, or to overestimate its resources, but nature also has its own ways — and in those ways it constantly works toward survival of life in general. nature may not bail us out, but it will always be there, adding its own vitality and strength to the overall good and health of the planet.

Remember what I said in earlier blogs about the connections between disease and non-disease states. Communication flashes between viruses and microbes, and they can change in the wink of an eye. Once again, then, ideas of the most optimistic nature are the biologically pertinent ones.

This is a good place to bring up again some extreme food practices, such as over-fasting, and an obsession with so-called natural foods.

I am not talking about a natural and healthy interest in the purity of foodstuffs, but of a worrisome over-concern. This is often carried so far that no food seems perfectly satisfying, and the concentration becomes focused upon the fear of food, rather than upon its benefits.

Behind many such attitudes if the idea that the body itself is unworthy, and that starving it somehow cuts down on the appetites of the flesh. We usually end up with a flurry of different kinds of diets.

Some concentrate almost exclusively on protein, some on carbohydrates — particularly rice — but in any case the large natural range of available foods and nutrients are cut out.

This keeps the body in a state of constant turmoil. Some people are so convinced, in fact, that eating is wrong that they diet until they become ravenously hungry, then overeat and force themselves to vomit up the residue.

Other people, in a well-meaning attempt to watch their weight, skip their breakfast entirely — a very poor procedure. It is far better to eat moderate amounts of food in all of the food ranges, and to consume smaller portions more often. I realize that our social mores also dictate our eating habits — but four light meals a day will overall serve us very well, and give the body a more steady, regulated nourishment.

These food ideas are important, since they are passed on from parents to children, and parents often use food as a way of rewarding a child’s good behavior, thus starting the youngster out toward conditions of overweight.

The main issue involved, once again, is the trust of the body.

In any case, there are new lives growing and maturing within each individual, whatever his or her age or circumstances.

The idea of survival reaches far beyond this life experience, and each person has new physical and spiritual existences ever ready — for there is no such thing as extinction. Alive or dead in usual terms, we are always conscious and aware and ourselves, and we are always a part of universal ventures in which we have always been involved, whatever our states of consciousness.

We are supported, never abandoned, and always couched lovingly in the great yet intimate presence of All That Is, whose love forms our breath, our life, our death, as in which the unknown divinity is always blessed and ever known.

It is known and unknown, forming all stages of creativity, and we are held within it, graced to be a part of the divine framework of All That Is.

My blogs, like life itself, have been and are a gift, rising from the immense, never-ending creativity of existence.

Alone, I live within one life that expresses multitudinous voices, and shed its own mercy, gladness, and joy, out into the world at large, enriching it, renewing the springtime, and never truly ending.

To one extent or another, I then speak in these blogs for all peoples, for the united psyches that overflow with thoughts and feelings that are registered by the wind, giving voice to the private, intimate, yet connected lives of men and women throughout the centuries — so that many people, listening to or reading my blogs, hear their own inner voices also, and feel the contours of their own natures, and universal nature as well.

Before we continue, I would like to remind the blog’s readers that in the middle of these or any of the problems we have been discussing, there may be a period of depression, of the feeling that one’s own problem has no solution after all.

Whenever this occurs, the steps I have given before in previous blogs should be followed. Briefly, immediately refuse to worry about the future or the past. Tell yourself you can worry another time if you want to — but for the moment you will not be concerned about the past of the future.

Remind yourself that for all you might have read, of heard, or deduced earlier, it is certainly not inevitable that all unfortunate situations take the darkest of times, and that indeed the opposite is true; for if such were the case, the world and all of life would have literally been destroyed through disasters and calamities.

Concentrate upon the present moment — but more, concentrate upon the most pleasant aspects of the present moment. If that moment has distracting, unfavorable aspects, then resolutely bring into your mind whatever images delight or please you at the moment. These may be very simple. Remember the smell of lilacs, for example, or try to hear the crisp crunch of snow, or try to visualize an ocean or lake. All of these procedures will serve to quiet your mind and body, and build up your own reserves.

This is an excellent policy to follow, because we can start it wherever we are. It will help alleviate fears and doubts at least momentarily, so that then we can pursue the entire issue later, with more assurance.

Conflicting beliefs about the nature of reality can bring about dilemmas in almost any form, for the individual will always try to make sense out of his or her surroundings, and try to at least see the world as a cohesive whole.

Some of the most complicated ways of trying to put conflicting beliefs together are often mental or emotional ones. The more incohesive the individual feels the world to be, the greater his or her efforts will be expended in an attempt to put the world back together.

Some people possess beliefs that are so in opposition to each other that they are forced into some of the most complicated mental or emotional footwork. Their problem will seem so gigantic that only some interference from an outside source will be sufficient to give the individual a sense of wholeness and sanity. A person may become so frightened of using his or her own power of choice or action that the construction of an artificial super being is created — a seemingly sublime personage who gives orders to the individual involved.

Again, let us use a hypothetical case — this time of a man named Stephen.

Stephen may be so terrified of making choices, so indecisive, that he constructs an imaginary super being who orders him to do thus and so. If a decision comes up on a job, for example, then the super being will order Stephen to take one course or another. Stephen has given up accepting responsibility for his actions. This imaginary personage may say it is God, or a famous hero from the present or the past, or Jesus Christ, or Mohammed, and the personality involved will be quite certain that such is the case.

Stephen, for example, many hear the hallucinated voice of the god or hero. The voice may be so frequent that it becomes highly distracting, or it may only appear in times of undue stress.

Again, we are starting out with a fairly simple picture. Our friend might also be convinced that he himself is evil, unworthy, or even depraved, the lowest of men or women. In such circumstances an individual might then construct an artificial devil or demon who annoys him constantly, and even orders acts of a highly destructive nature.

The individual, like Stephen, has also given up the responsibility for his own choices, and feels that he or she cannot be held responsible for any destructive acts that might be committed.

Any of the two kinds of personalities mentioned might also begin to feel persecuted, chased, or harassed by some outside agency. Among the agencies chosen, of course, are the FBI, the CIA, the Russian Secret Police, The Ku Klux Klan, or any controversial group given to acts of violence for whatever purposes.

Sometimes such episodes last for long periods of time, but they can also appear for just several days, clear up spontaneously, and return again perhaps years later.

Some people may seem completely normal in behavior unless certain subjects are brought up in the course of a conversation, or unless some stimulus in the environment arouses them.

For instance, the individual might be talking along normally enough when he or she hears the sirens of a police car in the distance. Instantly the person might leap up, convinced that that was evidence of the pursuit of the FBI or other agency.

The car with siren might disappear, yet the alarmed person’s attitude and actions may very well instantly cause his or her companion to realize that something was clearly amiss. The disturbed person may immediately begin a long tirade, describing previous episodes in which he or she was hunted from city to city. There may be further complications, in which the person insists that phones were bugged, letters opened, and privacy was constantly invaded.

This might be the very first sign to the person’s companion that anything was wrong at all. In most such instances the tirade will continue for some time, while in other far lesser episodes it might instead simply leap to disordered, confused thoughts about being so pursued. Or instead, the individual might embark upon a rather heated discussion of police forces in general.

In actuality, people in those circumstances are often so frightened of the use of power that the idea of being under constant surveillance actually lends them a sense of protection.

The point is, that in such circumstances the person will try to use evidence from the outside world to prove that he is indeed being pursued.

In the same fashion, the person who hallucinates the voice of God or a demon actually does so to preserve the idea of sanity in his or her own mind. As long as he or she believes that a god or demon is involved, then the person can consider the entire affair most extraordinary, decidedly apart from usual experience, but valid.

If the therapist tries to convince such a person that the hallucinated personage does not exist, then this threatens the person’s concepts of personal sanity.

It is , then, that any therapist convinces the client that while the super being is a self-construction, and/or that the voices are hallucinations — this does not mean that the client is insane.

An effort should be made to help the client understand that errors of thought and belief are responsible for the condition — and that the removal of those erroneous beliefs can relieve the situation. The therapist should make it clear that he or she understands that the client is not lying, in ordinary terms, when he reports hearing voices from the devil.

According to the particular case in point, the therapist should then try to point out the errors of thought and belief involved, and also to explain their more or less habitual cast.

First, the ideas must be disentangled, and then the habitual behavior will begin to disintegrate. The therapist should also assure the client that on many subjects and topics of thought and conversation, the client operates quite well. The subject itself is so cast the, of course, an entire book could easily be devoted to it, so it is impossible to cover all the issues that may be involved with such cases here.

Some of the errors concern the misinterpretation of physical events. The individual — convinced he or she is being pursued by some secret organization — again, may hear the sirens on a very real police car. The error is the assumption that the vehicle is pursuing the individual rather than some other party. The therapist can help the client learn to question his or her interpretation of such events.

All such cases can have their own peculiar complications. In the case of secondary personalities, the main operating portion who usually directs activity might be male, displaying all of the usual male characteristics. The second personality may seemingly be female, however, even speaking in a feminine-like voice. Or the opposite might be the case.

It is also possible for the individual to dress in male attire, while the secondary personality wears feminine clothes — or vice-versa.

What we are involved in mainly, however, are the characteristic periods of seeming amnesia, occurring usually involuntarily, often without any transition except perhaps for a headache.

In this category, I am not referring to individuals like “Psychic Mediums,” who speak for another personality with a sense of ease and tranquillity, and whose resulting information is excellent knowledge — the obvious products of uncommon common sense that proves to be helpful to the individual and others.

Behind all of those instances we have been discussing, however, there is again the need for value fulfillment, that has been blocked largely by conflicting or even opposing beliefs.

Regardless of how unbelievable it might seem to some blog readers, it is true that even the most destructive events are based upon misinterpretations of reality, opposing beliefs, and the inability to receive or express love. In fact, that kind of rage is the mark of a perfectionist caught in what seems to be the grasp of a world not only imperfect, but evil.

This brings us to another most dangerous belief — that the end justifies the means.

The greatest majority of destructive acts are committed in line with that belief. It leads to a disciplined over-rigidity that gradually cuts down the range of human expression.

We should be able to see, in fact, that the problems we have been discussing begin by limiting the field of available choices, and thus curtailing the range of expression. The individual will try to express himself or herself to the best degree possible, and so each individual then begins a concentrated effort to seek out those avenues of expression still open. All of the constructive beliefs mentioned throughout this blog should be applied to all of the instances. The individual must feel safe and protected enough to seek its own development and aid in the fulfillment of others.

One of the most rare and extraordinary developments that can occur in schizophrenic behavior is the construction of a seeming super-being of remarkable power — one who is able to convince other people of his or her divinity.

Most such instances historically have involved males, who claim to have the powers of clairvoyance, prophecy, and omnipotence. Obviously, then, the affected individual was thought to be speaking for God when he gave orders or directions. We are dealing with “god-making,” or “religion-making” — whichever you prefer.

In almost all such instances, discipline is taught to believers through the inducement of fear. Put very loosely, the dogma says that we must love God or he or she will destroy us. The most unbelievable aspects of such dogmas should, it seems, make them very easy to see through. In many cases, however, the more preposterous the legends or dogmas, the more acceptable they become. In some strange fashion followers believe such stories to be true because they are not true. The interceptions of almost all religions have been involved one way or another with these schizophrenic episodes.

The person so involved must be extremely disturbed to begin with: up in arms against social, national, or religious issues, and therefore able to serve as a focus point for countless other individuals affected in the same manner.

In a fashion. Adolf Hitler fell into such a classification. Although he lacked that characteristic mark of speaking for a super-being, this was because he frequently regarded himself as the super-being. The trouble is that while such religions can also inspire people to acts of great sympathy, heroism and understanding, their existence rests upon drastic misreadings of the nature or reality.

If the major religions have been touched, then there have also been numberless smaller cults and sects throughout history into the present that bear that same stamp of great psychological power and energy, coupled with an inborn leaning toward self destruction and vengeance.

To varying degrees, other less striking individual cases can bear the same sense of magic and mystery.

There is certainly no need to romanticize schizophrenic behavior, for its romantic-like elements have long been coupled in the public mind in an unfortunate manner, seeming to place the madman and the genius in some kind of indefinable relationship. Such beliefs are apparent in statements such as: “Madness is the other end of sanity,” or “All genius is touched with madness.”

Beneath these ideas is the fear of the mind itself, the belief that its abilities are fine and dependable up to a point — but if it goes too far then it is in trouble.

What does it mean to go too far in that connotation? Usually it means that knowledge itself is somehow dangerous.

In some cases, however, the constructed super-being can deliver astute comments on national, social, or religious conditions.

Most such personages, however, begin to prophesy the end of the world, from which the chosen people — whoever they may be — will be saved. More than a few have rendered specific dates for this worldly foreclosure — dates which have come and gone. Many people still continue to follow the very same dogmas that seemed to have proven themselves wrong; the personage comes up with a newer excuse, or a newer date, and things go on as before.

Again,however, even in far simpler cases, the constructive personage will often make predictions that, incidentally, do not predict — and almost always give orders and directives that are to be followed without question.

There are many other deep psychological connections beneath schizophrenic behavior, but since my blogs are also devoted to other subjects, we will go on to other ways in which conflicting beliefs bring about mental or physical dilemmas.

Thus far in my blogs we have been dealing with conflicting beliefs, however — and most of those can be tackled in the context of this life alone.

These beliefs may have physical or mental repercussions, though in most cases the two do not occur at once. We have dealt with some of the numerous physical dilemmas than can result. In other instances the individual encounters the difficulties on mental or emotional levels. One portion of the personality might be wholeheartedly in favor of good expression of personal power, and be stimulated to express and use his or her energy and strength. Another portion of the personality may be just as terrified of power or its uses as the other segment exults in it.

Instead of developing physical complications, in usual terms, sometimes one portion of the personality actually does act with assurance, power, and energy, while another equally valid portion refuses to use energy or power in any way whatsoever. The ideas are so opposing, and such equal adversaries, that the conscious personality can hardly bear to be aware of both at once.

In such cases, while one portion of the personality is expressing itself, and in command of the usual conscious abilities, the other portion lies acquiescent, latent, and unexpressed.

The individual may act purposefully, with power, energy, and strength, for varying lengths of time. Then sometimes without warning the frightened, inactive portions of the personality will take over the normal abilities of consciousness — acting depressed, taciturn, and communicating very poorly with others.

One portion of the personality will carry on conscious behavior — go to work, shop, or whatever, while the other portion of the personality will not remember performing those acts at all.

Take a hypothetical case. Call Marlo A the assertive part of the personality, and Marlo B the passive partner. Marlo A may go out dancing, go to a bar, then turn the entire proceedings over to Marlo B, who finds herself in noisy surroundings, surrounded by people she does not remember, and with no idea how she reached the present destination.

Her trend of memory will go back to the last time that she was in charge of consciousness, and she will have — or may not have — any idea of the existence of Marlo A at all. Marlo A may enjoy action, sports, dancing and bodily activities, while Marlo B may prefer reading, walking, or painting.

Such personalities may even have separate sets of friends — Marlo A and B each having their own companions. Though these personalities may seem so divergent, they are connected with each other, however, and they may on occasion set up their own rather bizarre kind of communication. They may write mysterious notes to each other, leaving them where they are bound to be found — yet notes using a special code or symbols of drugs, because too clear a communication would disrupt the entire relationship.

People may actually carry on such existences for years, until some event or another shows that something is amiss: one of Marlo A’s friends might meet a friend of Marlo B, for example, or the gaps in memory might finally become so frequent that it is obvious something is wrong.

Marlo A and B represent fairly simple examples of schizophrenic behavior, and indeed I have kept the story simple to keep the issues clear. Marlo A may actually grow into a more and more assertive or belligerent personality, even displaying violent tendencies at times, while on the other hand Marlo B might become even more timid, depressed, and solitary.

On other levels, however, each one is well aware of the other’s presence, and on those levels they do react to each other’s activities. This means, of course, that the entire amnesia process, regardless of how perfect it seems, is a surface one. I have used the different beliefs about power as an example, but any belief may be involved if it and its opposite are held in nearly equal weight.

One portion may believe that sex is natural and good, while the other portion believes vehemently that sex is evil and depraved. Here we will use a man for a hypothetical case. David A may be an excellent husband, breadwinner, and father, a church-goer who believes in the beauty and goodness of sex. David B may hold the opposite viewpoint most intently — that sex is at least evil, perhaps sent by the devil, and below or beneath the dignity of a good man.

On topside David A may go to church frequently, be kind and considerate to his family, and, say, come home from work every night for supper. He may carry on a fruitful accomplished existence for varying lengths of time.

Then, however, perhaps without warning, he may suddenly refuse to make love with his wife, becoming hostile with his children, stop off for a few drinks after work, before supper, or even begin seeing a prostitute, or begin an affair — often with a woman he considers beneath his own station.

David A may be quite startled to discover bottles of whiskey lying around in his dresser drawers, when he hardly drinks liquor himself at all. David B may suddenly “come to” in a strange bedroom, in a compromising position with a woman it certainly seems to him he has never seen before in his life.

On the other hand, David B may find himself in the middle of a family picnic, or other gathering — events that bore and displease him — or worse, he may not even remember his family at all. The more complicated such dilemmas becomes, the harder they are to keep secret, however, because their very complications multiply the chances of discovery. And there are, of course, variations.

David B, while drinking, might suddenly be sent back to his David A self. The kinds of communication can be very unique and bewildering, ranging from number codes to nonsense verses, or to the hearing of imaginary voices, which serve to remind one portion of the self that there is also another seemingly alien personality involved in his or her existence.

In many instances very strong feelings of persecution and paranoia can be involved, but these will be discussed in the following blogs.

In the kind of schizophrenic behavior we have just been discussing, hypnosis is frequently used as therapy, often in an attempt not only to introduce the two levels of the personality to each other, but also to uncover the time they originally split off in such a fashion.

While hypnosis can be of considerable value in the hands of an excellent professional hypnotist, it still has serious drawbacks as a treatment under these conditions. Because of its very nature, hypnosis can end up segmenting the personality still further.

Under such therapy it sometimes seems that news, lesser personality fragments are uncovered, but it is very possible that these instead are created by the therapy itself. The hypnotist obviously wants to cure his patient, and all forms of schizophrenia are intellectually intriguing. The segments of the personality that are involved are being given great attention, and they may seize upon that attention, seeking ways to further dazzle the hypnotist while at the same time sabotaging recovery.

It is far better to address whatever personality is in prominence during the session, to convince it of the therapist’s concern and interest, while letting it know that at other levels it is quite aware of the existence of its other segments.

People with schizophrenic difficulties often enjoy word games and puzzles, so they may well use these to confuse any therapist. The very fact that such a person considers any kind of therapy does mean that he or she is ready to tackle a considerable challenge. It can be put to each segment of the personality, then, that it will be quite a challenge for each to become aware of the other. We might compare the situation to someone who has been separated from a sister or brother for years — explaining, however, that the separation is psychological and not physical.

In a fashion, all of these activities are variations of others. Instead of forming such segmented selves, another person, as mentioned earlier, might enjoy the use of power, yet be so frightened of it that he or she experiences an epileptic episode instead of a schizophrenic one.

The universe is meaningful, then there must be a reason and a cause for conditions that appear chaotic, cruel, or grotesque. Even in such cases, however, at some extent or another the individual can indeed start over — or at least those closest to the person in question can begin to see a larger framework of existence in which even the most dire of physical circumstances are somehow redeemed.

In many cases, it is the parents of such offspring who suffer more than their children, since it seems as if such families were unjustly saddled with the most unfortunate woes.

We hope to explain this larger framework of existence still further, for indeed it also affects the human condition in all of its aspects.

As I have said in previous blogs, the reasons for most physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional problems can be found in this one lifetime, and because of the nature of simultaneous time, new beliefs in the present can also affect those in the past.

In a basic way, it is possible for present beliefs to actually modify the beliefs of a life that is seemingly a past one. I must explain again that all lives are lived at once — but in different kinds of focuses. Our conventional ideas of time make it simpler, however, to speak of one life as happening before or after another.

Again, no one is punished for crimes committed in a past life, and in each life we are unique. The inner intelligence within us that gives us each life also gives us the conditions of each life. It certainly seems to us, or to many of us, that most people would always choose to be born healthy and whole, in an excellent environment, of parents with loving natures and genetic excellence — and in other words to grow up healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Life, however, is far too profound and multitudinous, and requires great depths of emotional response and action that could never be satisfied adequately by any given set of circumstances, however favorable.

The species is filled with a powerful sense of curiosity and wonder, and the need for exploration and discovery, so that even a man born as a king through several lives would find himself bored and determined to seek out a different or opposite experience.

In some lives, then, we are born in fortunate circumstances, and in others we may find an environment of poverty and want. We may be born in excellent health in one life, with a high intelligence and great wit, while in still another existence we may be born ill or crippled or mentally deficient.

It also seems that each fetus must naturally desire to grow, emerge whole from its mother’s womb’s, and develop into a natural childhood and adulthood. However, in those terms just as many fetuses want the experience of being fetuses without following through on other stages. They have no intention of growing into complete human development. In fact, many fetuses explore that element of existence numberless times before deciding to go on still further, and emerge normally from the womb.

Those fetuses that do not develop still contribute to the body’s overall experience, and they feel themselves successful in their own existences. An understanding of these issues can greatly help throw light on the question of early deaths and diseases, and spontaneous abortions.

These are all part of the continuous undercurrents of life, and the same issues apply to many other species whose offspring are lost in very early life.

This is not an uncaring universe or nature operating, but portions of consciousness who choose at whatever levels certain experiences that nourish the living environment, and bring satisfactions that may never show on life’s surface.

In the case of human beings, however, many questions certainly rise to the fore. I do not want to generalize, for each living situation is too unique for that. I do want to point out that all fetuses do not necessarily intend to develop into normal babies, and that if medical science, through its techniques, ends up in directing a normal birth, the consciousness of the child may never feel normally allied with physical experience.

The child may go from one illness to another, or simply display an odd disinclination for life — a lack of enthusiasm, until finally in some cases the child dies at an early age. Another individual, under the same circumstances, might change its mind and decide to go along with the experience of normal life.

It seems unnatural to some people to hear of animals’ mothers who refuse to nurse one offspring, or sometimes even attack it — but in those instances the animal mother is instinctively aware of the situation, and acts to save the offspring from future suffering.

I am not advising that malformed infants be killed, but I do want to point out that even in those most severe cases there is meaning in such conditions, and the consciousness involved then chooses another kind of experience.

There are also perfectly healthy, normal children who have determined ahead of time that they will live only to the threshold of adulthood, happy and flushed with dreams and promises of accomplishment, yet not experiencing any disillusionment or regret or sorrow. Such young people die of sickness or accident, but go to their deaths like children after a splendid day. In most instances they choose quick deaths.

In one way or another, such children may try to describe their feelings to those closest to them, so as to cushion the shock. Usually these people are not suicides in conventional terms — although they may be.

Perhaps the greatest variances in human behavior show in mental states, and so parents are apt to feel most crushed and despondent if any of their children prove to be what is generally regarded as mentally deficient. In the first place, the term is a judgment cast by others, and a particular personality may feel quite comfortable in his or her own perception of reality, and only become aware of the difference when confronted by others. Most such persons are quite peaceful rather than violent, and their emotional experience may indeed cover nuances and depths unknown to normal persons.

Many simply perceive reality from a different focus, feeling a problem out rather than thinking a problem out.

In actuality all of the seemingly erratic genetic variances that often crop up in human development are vital to the elasticity of the entire genetic system.

It would not be beneficial, for example, to try to “breed out” those seemingly unfortunate, divergent genetic traits. The physical system would become too rigid, lose the power of its natural diversity, and eventually bring a dead-end to human survival.

There is hardly any danger of that possibility, however, since it would be nearly impossible to perform such a task even with the most developed of technologies — and indeed, the very attempt to do so might well immediately trigger a response on the part of the whole genetic system, so that new divergences appeared with even greater frequency, as compensation.

There are individuals who do choose ahead of time — in one lifetime or another — to accept such divergent genetic heritage for their own reasons — often to experience life from one of its most unique aspects, and sometimes in order to encourage the growth of other abilities that might not otherwise occur.

Human consciousness normally experience wide sweeps of rhythms, varying states of awareness, and its amazing flexibility is partially dependent upon its lack of rigidity, its own spontaneous inclinations, and its capacity for curiosity, wonder, discovery, and emotion.

It is not too frequently noticed, but many so-called mentally deficient people possess their own unique learning abilities — that is, often they learn what they do learn in a different manner than most other people. Many possess abilities that are not discovered by others, that are most difficult to explain. They may utilize chemicals in a different way than other people do in the learning process itself. Some may even have superior understanding of physical and psychological space. Their qualifications emotionally are also quite advanced, and it is quite possible that they are gifted in terms of mathematics and music, though these gifts may never come to fruition, since they are unsuspected.

Many deficient individuals in their way are as vital to the development of humanity as geniuses are, for both preserve the elastic nature of human consciousness, and promote its coping qualifications.

Each person makes his or her own reality, again, but each family member also shares the reality of the others. Often, therefore, instances of unusual genetic differences may also serve to bring out qualities of understanding, sympathy, and empathy on the part of family members — and those qualities also are vital to human development. Because the reasons for any such conditions can be so diverse, then life should be encouraged even in the face of deformities. If the consciousness involved has its own reasons for living, then it will make the most of even the most dire conditions. If instead the consciousness has been kept alive despite its own intents through medical procedures, it will terminate its own physical life in one way or another.

It would seem that infants have no belief systems, and therefore could not be in charge of their own realities in anyway. As mentioned earlier, however, the cells of the body themselves possess an equivalent in those biological leanings toward health and development. Even in cases where physical survival might seem pointless, it is also possible for the organism to alter its course to an extraordinary degree.

Children who are labeled mentally deficient or even called idiots, can often grow and develop far beyond medical science’s suppositions — particularly if they are aided by loving parents who constantly provide stimulation and interest.

This is not to say that all such children should be cared for at home, or that parents should feel guilty if they are forced through circumstances to place their offspring in an institution. The intuition of the parents, however, will often direct the most proper course in each individual case. If it is understood that there is indeed a reason behind such circumstances, then that realization alone can help ease the parents’ burden, and help them decide which course to take in their own particular case.

Starting over — changing one’s belief, is a bold endeavor. It is quite possible that along the way we may become discouraged or disillusioned.

At such times it is a good idea to give oneself time to relax. Turn one’s attention to something else entirely, and mentally say, “To hell with it all for now.” The entire idea involves a process in which we try and not try at the same time, in which we do not strain to achieve results, but instead gently begin to allow ourselves to follow the contours of our own subjective feelings, to uncover those spiritual and biologically valid beliefs of early childhood, and to bring to them the very best wisdom that we have acquired throughout our life so far.

So when we do become discouraged, a playful diversion should give us refreshing release. An escapist movie or novel, or the purchase of some small frivolous item may also serve to relax our conscious mind. We are actually involved in changing a way of life, in altering our very view of the self and the world in the hopes of acquiring a new sense of harmony with our bodies, our minds, our fellow creatures, and the environment.

Indeed, there is no more exciting adventure, and it will bring about more surprises and discoveries than any expedition to alien landscapes. Our beliefs are indeed alive in their own fashion. Now, instead of taking them for granted, we will begin to notice both their uniqueness and their variety.

If we are talking about starting over, however, we may as well begin at one of the lowest points and work upward. This way we can see beliefs in their darkest form, and then little by little watch them begin to show energy, vitality, and fresh impetus.

In nearly all matters of poor health, or unfortunate living conditions or mental or physical stress, there exists a strong tinge of denial, fear, and repression.

These are seen at their most severe and their most obvious where suicide is involved — particularly in the suicide of the young. In later blogs we will discuss some special cases of reincarnational influence connected with suicide, but for now we will be concerned with the increasing numbers of suicides by young adults.

At one time or another most people consider the possibility of their own death. That is a quite natural reaction to the conditions of life. With some people, however, the idea of death seems to grow obsessive, so that it is felt to be the one escape from life’s problems. It may even achieve an allure in some people’s minds.

The propelling force in all of existence is the desire to be, however — the impetus toward expression, development, and fulfillment. Some people who consider suicide believe in life after death, and some do not — and in the deepest of terms all deaths are somewhat suicidal. Physical life must end if it is to survive. There are certain conditions, however, that promote suicidal activity, and the termination of one’s own life had been held in great disrepute by many religions and societies, though not in all.

Individuals innately want to cooperate with their fellow human beings. They have a need to help other people, and to contribute to the common good. Many people who commit suicide feel to the contrary that they are no longer needed, or in fact that their very existence stands in the way of other people’s happiness. Young adult suicides are not necessarily from the poorest or the lowest stratas of society at all. In fact, poverty often serves as a strong impetus, leading the individual to fight for his or her daily needs.

Such a person’s day may be so crowded with desperate activity that there is no time with which to even contemplate suicide, because the struggle for life itself is so intent.

Again, the desire for value fulfillment, development and purpose is so strong that if those seem denied, life becomes — or seems to become — less precious. In many cases it is the son and daughter of the upper middle-classes, of the well-to-do, who run into such life-endangering dilemmas. Some youngsters are so overly provided for by their families that it seems that there is no way for them to achieve any more than they have.

If their parents are overly indulgent, then the youngster may actually feel as if they were adjuncts to their parents, or possessions alone. On the other hand, some upper-middle-class families stress competition to such a degree that it seems to the children that they are only valued for their achievements, rather than being loved for simply being the people they are.

To most people, none of these situations seem particularly drastic, and certainly there are far worse cases of human disillusionment in the world. Yet many such youngsters literally see no future for themselves as adults.

They do not visualize themselves as future parents, or as having certain careers. It is as if their whole lives accelerated to the brink of adulthood — yet they could see nothing beyond. Along the way, whether or not it was obvious to parents, such youngsters begin to feel that life is meaningless. Often such individuals are highly gifted, yet they feel as if that promise will never blossom.

In most cases these youngsters are actually quite secretive — though the self they show to parents and friends might appear to be lively and gregarious.

Such persons can help themselves, however, and they can be helped by others.

First of all, let me make it clear that no one is “damned” for committing suicide. There are no particular “penalties.”

Would-be suicides, for all their secrecy, usually do mention the subject to a friend, relative, or close family member. The subject should not be ignored or condemned, but honestly examined. Part of the mystique of the suicidal impulse is indeed the secretive aspect — so the very expression of the feeling is beneficial, and leads to better communication.

Indeed, part of the would-be suicide’s dilemma may be caused by a lack of communication with others, a misinterpretation of the motives of friends or family members, and a difficulty in expressing one’s own needs and wishes.

For adults, ideas of health and illness are intimately connected with philosophical , religious, and social beliefs. They are even more entangled with scientific concepts, and with science’s views of life in general. Children, however, are far more innocent, and though they respond to the ideas of their parents, still their minds are open and filled with curiosity. They are also gifted with an almost astounding resiliency and exuberance.

They possess an innate love of the body and all of its parts. They also, feel an eager desire to learn all they can about their own physical sensations and capabilities.

At the same time, young children in particular still possess a feeling of oneness with the universe, and with all of life, even as they begin to separate themselves at certain levels from life’s wholeness to go about the delightful task. Seeing themselves as separate and apart from all other individuals, they still retain an inner comprehension and a memory of having once experienced a oneness with life as a whole.

At that level even illness is regarded simply as a part of life’s experience, however unpleasant it might be. Even at an early age, children joyfully explore all of the possibilities of all sensations possible within their framework — pain as well as joy, frustration as well as satisfaction, and all the while their awareness is propelled by curiosity, wonder, and joy.

They pick up their first ideas about health and disease from parents and doctors, and by the actions of those people to their own discomfiture. Before they can even see, children are already aware of what their parents expect from them in terms of health and disease, so that early patterns of behavior are formed, to which they then react in adulthood.

For now we will speak of children who possess ordinary good health, but who may also have some of the usual childhood “diseases.” Later we will discuss children with exceptionally severe health conditions.

Many children acquire poor health habits through the well-meaning mistakes of their parents. This is particularly true when parents actually reward a child for being ill. In such cases, the ailing child is pampered far more than usual, given extra special attention offered delicacies such as ice cream, let off some ordinary chores, and in other ways encouraged to think of bouts of illness as times of special attention and reward.

I do not mean that ill children should not be treated with kindness, and perhaps a bit of special attention — but the reward should be given for the child’s recovery, and efforts should be made to keep the youngster’s routine as normal as possible. Children often know quite well the reasons for some of their illnesses, for often they learn from their parents that illness can be used as a means to achieve a desired result.

Often parents hide such behavior from themselves. They deliberately close their eyes to some of the reasons for their own illnesses, and this behavior has become so habitual that they are no longer conscious of their own intent.

Children, however, may be quite conscious of the fact that they willed themselves to become ill, in order to avoid school, or an examination, or a coming feared family event. They soon learn that such self-knowledge is not acceptable, however, so they begin to pretend ignorance, quickly learning to tell themselves instead they they have a bug or a virus, or have caught a cold, seemingly for no reason at all.

Parents frequently foster such behavior. Some are simply too busy to question a child about his or her own illness. It is far simpler to give a child aspirin, and send a child to bed with ginger tea and a coloring book.

Such procedures unfortunately rob a child of important self-knowledge and understanding. They begin to feel victims to this or that disorder. Since they have no idea that they themselves caused the problem to begin with, then they do not realize that they themselves possess the power to right the situation. If they are being rewarded for such behavior in the meantime, then the pressure is less, of course, so that bouts of illness or poor health can become ways of attaining attention, favorite status, and reward.

Parents who are aware of these facts can start helping their children at an early age by asking them simply the reasons for their illness. A mother might say: “You don’t need to have a temperature in order to avoid school, or as a way of getting love and attention, for I love you in any case. And if there is a problem at school, we can work it out together, so you don’t have to make yourself ill.” Again, the reasons for such behavior are often quite clear in the child’s mind. So, if the parents begin such questioning and reassurance when the child is young, then the youngster will learn that while illness may be used to attain a desired result, there are far better, healthier ways of achieving an end result.

Some parents, unfortunately, use the nature of suggestion in the most undesirable way, so that a child is often told that he or she is sickly, or weak or overly sensitive, and not as robust as other youngsters. If that kind of behavior is continued, then the child soon takes such statements as true, and begins to act upon them, until they do indeed become only too real in the youngster’s everyday experience.

Good health is closely related, of course, to a family’s beliefs about the body. If parents believe that the body is somehow an inferior vehicle for the spirit, of if they simply view the body as unreliable or weak and vulnerable, then children will at an early age begin to consider good health as a rarity, and learn to take depression, poor spirits, and bodily aches and pains to be a natural, normal condition of life.

If, on the other hand, parents view the body as a healthy, dependable vehicle of expression and feeling, then their children will look at their own bodies in the same fashion. It is very important that parents express a fond affection towards each other, and toward their children. In this way most children are assured of their parent’s love, and hence need not resort to illness as a way of gaining attention or testing a parent’s’ love and devotion.

There is no natural reason for children to feel a sense of shame concerning any bodily part. No portion of the body should be spoken about in secret, hushed tones. Each child should be told that his body, or her body, is a precious private possession, however, so that it is easy to build up a desirable feeling of bodily privacy, without any hint of shame or guilt.

It goes without saying that parents should hold the bodies of their male and female children in equal favor, so that one is not considered inferior to the other. Each child should be educated as early as possible by their parents, so that the youngsters are repeatedly reminded of the body’s natural resources and healing abilities.

Parents who are actually quite worried about their children’s’ susceptibility to illness often go overboard, stressing all kinds of sports and sports-related projects, but the children sense their parents’ unspoken fears, and they try to reassure their parents through achieving high goals or merits in sports programs.

There is no area of thought or belief that does not touch upon the subject of health in one way or another. Therefore, throughout my blogs we will be devoted to many ideas that may at first seem unrelated to the topic at hand.

Before we discuss the human situation more specifically in relationship to health and “dis-ease” — let us consider the so-called states of health and disease as they apply in planetary terms, and as they operate in all species. This will give us a far vaster framework in which to understand the ways in which each individual person fits into the entire picture.

I used quotation marks around the entire heading for this blog to stress the point that the heading is written with our own ideas of health and disease in mind. Actually, however, regardless of appearances and misreadings of natural events, the very idea of disease as we usually think of it, is chauvinistic in health rather than in sexual terms.

Basically speaking, there are only life forms. Through their cooperation our entire world sustains its reality, substance, life and form. If there were no diseases as we think of them, there would be no life forms at all. Our reality demands a steady fluctuation of physical and nonphysical experience. Most of us, my blog readers, understand that if we did not sleep we would die. The conscious withdrawal of mental life during life makes normally conscious experience possible. In the same way there must, of course, be a rhythm of physical death, so that the experience of normal physical life is possible. It goes without saying that without death and disease — for the two go hand in hand — then normal corporeal existence would be impossible.

For all of man’s and woman’s fears of disease, however, the species has never been destroyed by it, and life has continued to function with an overall stability, despite what certainly seems to be the constant harassment and threat of illness and disease. The same is true, generally speaking, of all species. Plants and insects fit into this larger picture, as do al fish and fowl.

I have said elsewhere that no species is ever really eradicated — and in those terms no disease, or virus, or germ, ever vanishes completely from the face of the earth. In the first place, viruses change their form, appearing in our terms sometimes as harmless and sometimes as lethal. So-called states of health and disease are also changing constantly — and in those vaster terms disease in itself is a kind of health, for it makes life and health itself possible.

Later we will discuss what this means to us, the individual person, but for now I want to stress that fact that while it may seem natural enough to consider disease as a threat, an adversary or an enemy, this is not the case.

The subject matter of suffering is certainly vitally connected to the subject at hand, but basically speaking, disease and suffering are not necessarily connected. Suffering and death are not necessarily connected either. The sensations of suffering, and the pain, do exist. Some are indeed quite natural reactions, and others are learned reactions to certain events. Walking barefoot on a bed of fire would most likely cause most of my readers, to feel the most acute pain — while in some primitive, societies, under certain conditions the same situation could result instead in feelings of ecstasy or joy.

We want to discuss “disease” as it exists apart from suffering for now, then. Then we will discuss pain and suffering and their implications. I do want to mention, however, that pain and suffering are also obviously vital, living sensations — and therefore are a part of the body’s repertoire of possible feelings and sensual experience. They are also a sign, therefore, of life’s vitality, and are in themselves often responsible for a return to health when they act as learning communications.

Pain, therefore, by being unpleasant, stimulates the individual to rid himself or herself of it, and thereby often promotes a return to the state of health.

Even in situations that involve a so-called host-and-parasite relationship, there is a cooperative process. Fleas, for example, actually help increase circulation, and constantly comb animal’s hair. At minute levels they also consume some bodily wastes, and creatures even smaller than they are. They also keep the immune system active and flexible.

Many diseases are actually health-promoting processes. Chicken pox, measles, and other like diseases in childhood in their own way “naturally inoculate” the body, so that it is able to handle other elements that are a part of the body and the body’s environment.

When civilized children are medically inoculated against such diseases, however, they usually do not show the same symptoms, and to an important extent the natural protective processes are impeded. Such children may not come down with the disease against which they are medically protected, then — but they may indeed therefore become “prey” to other diseases later in life that would not otherwise have occurred.

I am speaking generally here, for remember that our individual beliefs, thoughts, and emotions cause our reality, so no person dies ahead of his or her time. The individual chooses the time of death. It is true, however, that many cancers and conditions such as AIDS result because the immunity system has been so tampered with that the body has not been allowed to follow through with its own balancing procedures.

Again, however, no individual dies of cancer or AIDS, or any other condition, until they themselves have set the time.

There are many other conditions to be taken into consideration, for such diseases certainly do have strong social connections. They occur in social species. This does not mean that they are necessarily contagious at all, but that they do bear an overall relationship to the give-and-take between individuals and their social and natural frameworks.

A city might be overrun by rats, for example — a fine situation for the rats if not the populace — but the entire picture would include unrest in the populace at large, a serve dissatisfaction with social conditions, feelings of dejection, and all of those conditions together would contribute to the problem. Rat poison may indeed add its own dangers, filling other small birds or rodents, and contaminating animal food supplies. Nor are insects invulnerable to such conditions, in such an hypothesized picture. Actually, all forms of life in that certain environment would be seeking for a balanced return to a more advantageous condition.

We may wonder why so many forms of life would be involved in what might seem to be self-destructive behavior, often leading to death — but remember that no consciousness considers death an end or a disaster, but views it instead as a means to of continuation of corporeal and non-corporeal existence.

I am not advising my blogs readers to refuse to have their children vaccinated, since we now have vaccination into consideration because of the prominence of it in society. It is very possible, however, that science itself will in time discover the unfortunate side effects of many such procedures, and begin to reevaluate the entire subject.

It is true that some native populations — particularly in the past — were free of many of the childhood diseases that are considered natural by western medicine. It is also true, of course, that some primitive societies have lost large numbers of their populations to disease. Some of those instances, however, were caused precisely by the sudden introduction of western medicine.

I am not condemning western medicine per se, however, but merely pointing out its many detrimental aspects. Medicinal science is also in a state of transition, and it is just as important — if not more so — that it examine its concepts as well as its techniques.

The idea of using animals for experimentation has far more drawbacks than advantages; there is the matter of one kind of consciousness definitely taking advantage of another kind, and thus going counter to nature’s cooperative predisposition.

In the distant past some ancient civilizations did indeed use animals in such a fashion, but in a far different framework. The doctors or priests humbly stated their problems verbally and through ritualistic dancing, and then requested the help of the animal — so that the animals were not sacrificed, in those terms, nor taken advantage of. Instead, they united in a cooperative venture, in which animals and man and woman all understood that no consciousness truly died but only changed its form.

Animals have indeed often been quite helpful to man and woman in various healing situations and encounters, but in all such cases these were cooperative ventures.

This leads me of course to at least mention here that cruel methods used in the slaughtering of animals and fowls for human consumption. The creatures are treated as if they possessed no feeling or consciousness of their own — and such attitudes show a most unfortunate misreading of natural events. As a direct result, at least as many diseases develop through such procedures as would exist in a highly primitive society with unsanitary conditions.

In that kind of setting, however, balances would right the themselves because the basic understanding between living creatures would be maintained. We cannot divorce philosophy from action, and the cruelty in slaughterhouses would not be perpetrated if it were not for distorted philosophies dealing with the survival of the fittest on the one hand, and the egotistical assumption that God gave man and woman animals to do with as man and woman wished.

Remember that each segment of life is motivated by value fulfillment, and is therefore always attempting to use and develop all of its abilities and potentials, and to express itself in as many probable ways as possible, in a process that is cooperatively — correction: in a process that takes into consideration the needs and desires of each other segment of life.

The very existence of certain kinds of viruses provides safety against many other diseases, whether or not those viruses even exist in an active manner. It is obvious, of course, that the overall physical stability of the earth is possible because of the ever-occurring storms, “natural disasters,” and other seeming calamities. Yet such events promote the earth’s great, bountiful food supplies, and serve to redistribute the plant’s resources.

In the same fashion, disease also, in the overall picture, promote the health and well-being of life in all of its aspects. Value fulfillment operates within microbes and nations, within individual creatures and entire species, and it unites all of life’s manifestations so that indeed creatures and their environments are united in an overall cooperative venture — a venture in which each segment almost seeks to go beyond itself in creativity, growth, and expression. In a smaller, individual framework, each man and woman, then is motivated by this same value fulfillment.

We will shortly see how diseases are caused by the detriments set up against value fulfillment, often because of fears, doubts, or misunderstandings — and how other diseases may actually lead to instances of value fulfillment that are misread or misinterpreted.

I also want to stress here that all aspects of life experience not only sensations but emotional feelings. Therefore, there is a kind of innate gallantry that operates among all segments of life — a gallantry that deserves our respect and consideration. We should have respect, then, for the cells of our body, the thoughts of our mind, and try to understand that even the smallest of creatures shares with us the emotional experience of life’s triumphs and vulnerabilities.

There are many large issues that touch upon the circumstances involving the health of individuals, and these concern questions that we have not yet discussed in any of my blogs.

They will indeed be covered in later blogs, but for now we will only be concerned with them in a general way. They are more divorced from ordinary medical thought, and would indeed be considered sheer quackery in the majority of medical circles.

The fact is that each individual lives many lives, and that the inner self is quite aware of its own spiritual and physical dexterity. The body consciousness alone understands that its physical existence in any one life is dependent upon its physical death — and that that death will assure it of still another existence. The “drive for survival” is, therefore, a drive that leads to death and beyond it, for all of consciousness understands that it survives through many forms and conditions.

Reincarnation, therefore, also is part of the larger framework in which any individual’s health and well-being must be considered. The reincarnational influences are most apparent in what would be considered bodily defects dating from birth, and these will be discussed later on in my blog.

Reincarnational influences are not nearly as rigid as many believers in the concept think. That is, reincarnational influences usually leave many options to an individual in any case. It is quite simplistic, for example, to say, as some people do, that any given particular event from a past life leads inevitably to a particularly matching effect in a present one. There are too many other elements that also apply to the human personality. No one is”fated” to have bad health. No one is punished in one life for “evil” activities in a previous one.

A person who has been cruel in one life may choose to experience conditions in the next life in which he or she understands the meaning of cruelty, but this does not mean that such a person would then necessarily experience an entire lifetime as a victim.

New learning would always be involved, and thus new options would always be open. There as, in fact, so many distorted ideas connected with the concept of reincarnation in general, that I think it far better to simply concentrate upon the idea of multiple existences. Because of the true nature of time, and the interrelationships of consciousness, a future life affects a past one, for in actuality all of these existences happen simultaneously. All systems are open-ended, particularly psychological ones. In greater terms, we are working “at all levels” and at all of our own existences at once, even though it is useful sometimes to think of reincarnation as a series of lives, one after the other.

The concept of the survival of the fittest has had a considerably detrimental effect in many areas of human activity — particularly in the realm of medical ideology and practice.

The whole idea was developed in the most mechanistic of terms, stressing competition among all aspects of life, pitting one life form against another, and using physical strength and dexterity, swiftness and efficiency, as the prime conditions for the survival of any individual or species.

It is quite true, however, that in the wild many animals protect and provide for wounded or disabled members, and that the wisdom that comes with age is indeed appreciated even in the animal kingdom. The survival of the fittest concept, however, has been exaggerated far above those of cooperation.

Politically as well as medically, such distortions have led to unfortunate conditions: Aryan-supremacy biological ideas fostered in the second world war, the concentration upon “the perfect body,” and other distortions. The idea of the ideal body has often been held up to the populace at large, and this often sets forth a stylized “perfect” physique that actually could be matched by few individuals. Any variations are frowned upon, and any birth defects considered in the most suspicious of lights. Some schools of thought, then, have it that only the genetically superior should be allowed to reproduce, and there are scientists who believe that all defects can be eradicated through judicious genetic planning.

As a result of such long-held theories, people have grown distrustful of their own bodies. The handicapped are often given messages, even by the medical profession, that make them feel like misfits, unworthy to survive. When people become ill, they often blame themselves in such a way that unnecessary guilt is the result.

In the past some religious groups have also promoted beliefs that illness is a sign of God’s punishment, or vengeance for sins committed against his “goodness.”

The same beliefs often spread in economic areas in which people who met pleasure in God’s eyes were therefore gifted with wealth and prosperity, as well as good health. Therefore God was seen to be on the side of those who competed most strenuously, so that to be poor or sick was almost seen as a sign of God’s disfavor. All such concepts appear in one form or another at most official levels of thought and education. The whole idea of the esthetics of nature is forgotten — a subject that we will touch upon further as we continue our discussion in future blogs.

This blog consists of a potpourri of different ideas — merely to hint at the multitudinous issues connected with health and well-being.

Our ideas about ourselves are again, vital in the larger context of a healthy lifetime. The condition of our heart is affected, for example, by our own feelings about it. If we consider oneself to be coldhearted, or heartless, those feelings will have a significant effect upon that physical organ. If we feel broken-hearted, then we will also have that feeling reflected in one way or another in the physical organ itself.

Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, each individual also has many options open. Everyone who feels brokenhearted does not die of heart failure, for example. The subject of health cannot be considered in an isolated fashion, but must be seen in that greater context that gives health itself a value and a meaning. As mentioned earlier, each person will also try to fulfill their own unique abilities, and to “fill out” the experience of life as fully as possible.

If an individual is hampered in that attempt strongly and persistently enough, then the dissatisfaction and frustration will be translated into a lack of physical exuberance and vitality. There is always an unending reservoir of energy at the command of each person,however, regardless of circumstances, and we will also discuss the ways in which we can learn to tap that source and better our own health situation.

The sooner we can rid ourselves of rigid beliefs about the survival of the fittest, the better we will be. All philosophies that stress the idea of the body’s impurity or degradation should also be seen as detrimental to bodily and spiritual integrity. Such beliefs clutter up our conscious mind with negative suggestions that can only frighten the exterior ego and impede the great strength and vitality that is our heritage from lending us the fullest possible strength and support.

In later blogs we will indeed discuss various methods of healing, conventional and unconventional. Medical technology alone, however expert, cannot really heal a broken heart, of course. Such a healing can only take place through understanding and through expressions of love. In other words, through emotional transplants rather than physical ones alone. The emotional factors are extremely vital, both in the development in the healing of all dis-eases.

We will not stress particular diseases in my blogs, and mention symptoms only to identify the case associated with such conditions. It is actually far more important that we stress the symptoms of health and those methods, beliefs, and healings that promote them.

Each creature is born proud of itself, and loving itself. That same self-approval is also experienced in varying ways not only by creatures as we think of them, but also by atoms and molecules, and by all orders of matter.

Imagine a nail on a window sill endowed with consciousness and self-awareness. Now every nail is indeed in its own way responsive to stimuli. It acts and reacts. A nail may not choose to jump down from a window sill and dance about the room, but a nail is indeed aware of the room, of the window sill, and aware of the temperature on both sides of the window. The atoms and molecules that compose the nail possess their own lively consciousnesses. Their motion is directed by electrons, so that within itself the nail actually experiences constant motion. Indeed, a dance is executed of great symmetry and rhythm. The nail, then is, indeed filled with its own sense of self-approval.

I am mentioning this only to stress the fact that self-delight and self-approval are natural characteristics — characteristics that actually make our entire physical world, and world of experience, possible.

It is very unfortunate, therefore, when adults inadvertently undermine a child’s sense of self-approval. A small boy or girl might be caught in a lie, for example, and therefore labeled by an adult in the angriest of terms as a liar. Instead, a distinction should be made: the child made an error — he lied — but he himself or herself is not the error or the lie. He or she can then determine to change his or her behavior while still saving his or her self-respect.

All creatures are basically of good intent; even when they commit the most dubious of acts, these are usually caused by a misdirected good intent. Actually, many criminals are motivated by distorted versions of righteousness. We will have more to say about this in later blogs, but for now I want to stress the importance of self-approval in connection with exuberance, health, and well-being.

Trust in the body automatically quickens all healing processes. You only have to take my words to heart.

Once again, it is perfectly natural for each cell in the body, for each organ and each portion of the body to heal itself, and in the same terms it is really “unnatural” not to trust the body, rather than looking at it with suspicion.

In any case, trust alone relaxes all other parts of the body, and lets the healing processes operate more easily and efficiently.

It is indeed unfortunate that those beliefs that show themselves so simply and effectively in nature seem so mysterious to the usual line of official consciousness.

The official line does have its role, of course — but by itself it must remain isolated from deep, creative, healing functions of body consciousness. The official line of consciousness is really the “worrier,” because it recognizes that it can only go so far, and usually it is not educated enough to realize it is itself sustained and supported.

There are styles of thinking, just as there are various styles of dress.

The official line of consciousness is a certain mental stance, a kind of convention. When we were children we thought in a freer fashion, but little by little we were educated to use words in a certain way. We discovered that our needs were met more quickly, and we received approval more often, when we thought and spoke in that particular manner. Finally it seems to be the only natural mode of operation. Our entire civilization is built around that kind of inner framework. The way of thinking becomes so automatic as to be mentally invisible. With creative people, however, there are always intrusions, hints or clues from ways of thinking that certainly appear foreign, and creative people use those hints and clues to construct an art, a musical composition or whatever. They sense a surge of power beneath.

What we are trying to do is change over completely from one mode of operation to another, and to construct say, new inner blocks of meaning that will give rise to the next era.

What we are involved in then is really. of course, a completely new educational procedure, so that we are at least able to distinguish one style of thought from another, and therefore be freer to make choices.

When an idea for a blog comes to me, I “tune into it” immediately. It never occurs to me to wonder how many vowels or syllables, words and sentences or paragraphs night be involved. I take it for granted that my intent will be executed.

That is the natural, creative way to function, and it has provided me with many excellent blogs and poetry. When I am writing I do not think in terms of impediments. What impediments there may be, I brush aside.

Now our health can be handled in the same fashion, without wondering how many nerves or muscles or stages must be activated, without worrying about how much time will be involved. In a fashion the body is a living blog, being produced in every moment.

Again, it may seem too simple — but by applying the same methods to the body, the body’s health will be written with health and vitality, using blood and corpuscles, joints and ligaments and so forth instead of syllables, consonants, words and sentences.

Specifically, I wanted to make the point that the body’s actions are unfortunately often misread and misunderstood. The body often clears out, or tries out, its own processes — perhaps by being feverish for several days, and then by lowering the temperature once unwanted materials are burned out, so to speak.

It may store urine to retain minerals at one time, and urinate seemingly to excess in another. When the body is basically held in distrust, however, all such behavior is considered dangerous and suspect.